Casual viewers of the Tour de France and other major cycling events often think that pro racing is a solo event, this could not be farther from the truth. Pro riders ride for “teams” which consist of 9 riders and they work together to try to accomplish the “team” goals. While teams with top riders often ride for the overall win (such has been the case for CSC with Ivan Basso in this years Giro d’ Italia) other teams with more specialized riders might ride for other competitions within the race such as the points jersey or the king of the mountains title.
Race organisers “invite” 20 “pro” teams into the big tours such as the Tour de France and Giro d’ Italia, these pro teams then select which riders will ride for the event. Race organisers also invite two wildcard teams which are not a the top level of the pro teams. Figure a wildcard team might make the playoffs but will probably not win the division.
This year one Spanish and one French team have been selected as the wild card teams to participate in the 2006 Tour de France. Agritubel and Comunidad Valenciana will line up their riders alongside the 20 ProTour teams in the next Grande Boucle. This years event will feature 198 riders and a total of 22 teams.
Related:
